Friday, April 15, 2016

Statistics Reflect What Life Would Be Like If Current World Was Reduced to 100 People

Perhaps I am mistaken, but I was under the impression that I had already posts a blog entry about this some time ago, but found no evidence of this in looking back. So, that means that I really wanted to do this now.

These are two very similar videos, with basically the same statistics. One has generic looking people, the other has people who strangely resemble Lego figures, complete with unsettling smiles on their faces. I say unsettling, because you cannot help but notice those strange smiles when you see that some of these people do not have access to clean water, enough food, shelter, or are forced to live off literal starvation wages.

To start with, it seems harmless enough. It begins with geography, and so we see that 60 people would live in Asia, which is far and away the most populous continent in the world. There would be 15 Africans, 14 Americans (meaning those who live in the Americans: North Americans, South Americans, Central Americans, and those who live in the Caribbean). There would be 11 who would live in Europe.

There would be 33 people who would identify themselves as Christians, 21 as Muslims, 14 who would subscribe to Hinduism, 7 to Buddhism, 10 to other religions, and 16 would not be affiliated with any official religion.

As for languages, 12 people would speak Chinese, 6 would speak Spanish, 5 English, 4 Hindi, and 3 Arabic, while the remaining 70 would speak 6,500 different languages between them.

Some of these facts just blew me away, such as how many people could read. 86 people would be able to read, 14 would not.

Then there is, of course, money. 15 of the 100 people make and spend less than $2 a day. 56 people make and spend somewhere between $2 to $10 a day. 13 people make and spend between $10 to $20. Nine people make and spend between $20 to $50 a day. Six people make and spend between $50 to $90 a day. And only one person out of 100 makes and spends more than $90 a day. That one person controls 50% of the money.

As far as weight is concerned, 21 are overweight, 63 are at a good weight, 15 are malnourished, and 1 is starving. 87 have access to clean water, and 13 do not.

Out of those 100 people, 77 have shelter, and 23 do not. 44 have access to the internet, 56 do not. Yet, rather strangely, 75 have a mobile phone, 25 do not.

Finally, in education, 7 have attended college, and 93 have not.

Watching this video for the first time was a shock to me. You hear statistics that reflect these realities sometimes, but when it is all put together in one video, and you find yourself among the most fortunate few in almost every single category, it should give you pause for thought. Also, whatever problems you might have pale in comparison to the reality of the crushing problems that so many in the world face. Suddenly, you do not feel you have any right to complain, and if you are anything like me, you find yourself feeling gratitude for the abundance that you find yourself in. Really, for many people in the West, myself included, we live with a comparative embarrassment of riches.

It made me view the world differently, and to remember to be thankful for all that I, personally, have been blessed with.